A "tro-tro" is, essentially, a large van that has been retrofitted to seat anywhere between 14 and 20 people. It's what I use to go to and from work on a daily basis, and often my preferred mode of transportation for getting around the city.
Tro-tros run regular routes, and Each tro-tro has to be sanctioned by the appropriate transportation board in order to operate legally. They are operated by a two-man crew - a driver, and a mate (I use the term "two-man" purposefully; I have never seen a female driver or a female mate). The driver's role is straightforward, but the mate has a slightly more harrowing job. As you can see in the photo, the mate will hang haphazardly out of the open van door (often while it's still moving), trying to draw passengers into the tro-tro. He is also responsible for seating the passengers (often herding us into remarkably small spaces), and for collecting the fares (which are truly a pittance ... even the longest route within the city will cost less than $0.50 CDN).
Most of them have some sort of slogan affixed to the front and the back, often religiously themed. (One of my all-time favorites: "Try Islam!") Inside the tro-tro, the driver will have often lined the windshield with flags from his favorite foreign countries (Canada is a popular choice), or just as frequently, his favorite football team ("football" in the soccer sense of the word).
These tro-tros essentially comprise the country's public transportation system. The major tro-tro stations (inevitably, attached to a large market where street vendors sell everything from fruits to suits) have hundreds of tro-tros, as you can see from Thomas' picture below.
But you don't have to get out of the tro-tro to do your shopping! Oh, no! At nearly every major intersection, during the inevitable traffic jams, there are merchants who will run up and down the busy street, trying to sell you food, water, newspapers, phone cards, etc. You can pretty much get all the necessities of life at any red-light.
When I'm on the tro-tro is when I feel most immersed in Ghanaian culture. Unless I'm traveling with a co-worker, I will usually be the only "obruni" on the tro-tro. If I am traveling to an unfamiliar location, there will be no shortage of people to help point me in the right direction. Once, when I had paid my fare and a mate had given me insufficient change, a helpful fellow tro-tro'er argued with the mate on my behalf until I was provided with adequate coinage.
However, there is a downside. The sad truth is that tro-tros, particularly the ones that travel between cities, are quite dangerous. There are, of course, no seat-belts, and the rusty frames of the vehicles look like they would crumple if you stared at it hard enough. The vehicles are all very old, and often break down in the middle of the road (this has happened to me twice so far, fortunately with no negative consequences other than an additional delay). A week and a half ago, one of my housemates had a visiting family member tragically involved in a tro-tro accident (on the highway, where the speeds are much, much higher). Things will hopefully turn out alright, but that incident does underscore the inherent danger in tro-tro travel. There's not much I can do, though ... it's something that's out of my contro-trol.
Tomorrow: Going to a trial in the Tarkwa region!
"You can pretty much get all the necessities of life at any red-light."
ReplyDelete- So true
"it's something that's out of my contro-trol." Weak. But hilarious.